MICHIYA HARUHATA

Michiya Haruhata was the guitarist of the Japanese band Tube, which debuted in 1985 with the album Heart of Summer.  In 1987 he started his solo activities in parallel with Tube and released 3 singles and 12 albums. In 1992, the single J'S Theme became the official theme song of the J-League, Japan's first professional soccer league. In 1993 he performed live in front of about 60,000 spectators at the National Stadium for the J-League opening ceremony.
 Haruhata formally signed an endorsement contract with Fender on May 9, 2002. Three signature models have been released by Custom Shop: Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster, Michiya Haruhata BWL Stratocaster, and Michiya Haruhata III Stratocaster Master Built by Jason Smith. 

In May 2002 Fender Custom Shop unveiled the Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster.  From late 2002 to the beginning of 2003, 60 team built pieces were built under the supervision of the Senior Master Builder John English. This model featured a large reverse headstock and a see-through White Blonde body with a gold anodized pickguard.

The Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster

The Michiya Haruhata BWL Stratocaster was the second signature model, announced in 2005. In 2006 John English made 12 master built pieces and other 60 team built strats were produced. This model was designed in collaboration with the top brand BWL from California, as evidenced by Malibu Cross made by Bill Wall Leather and by the engraved neck plate.

The Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster III Trans Pink was a Custom Order guitar made in 2010 by the Master Builder Jason Smith. It was based on a prototype that was made by one of the senior master builders, John English. It featured an ash body with quilt maple top, two humbucking pickups, a Di Marzio Air Norton and a Di Marzio Fred, and a single coil, a Texas Special Strat Pickup.
The Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster III Caribbean Blue was a team built model limited to 50 pieces released by the Custom Shop in 2011 under the supervision of John English.

The Michiya Haruhata BWL Stratocaster (on the right) and the Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster III Caribbean Blue (on the left)

The Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster III Caribbean Blue

The prototype of the new Made in Japan Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster was completed in early May 2018 and the guitar was unveiled in August 2018.  It was available in Caribbean Blue and Trans Pink finishes.  It was  based on the Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster III released by the Custom Shop in 2011, but it would be made in the Japanese Dyna Gakki factory for an easily accessible price range.
As with the Custom Shop model, the new Michiya Haruhata Stratocaster featured a reverse large headstock and the double locking tremolo system.  The Michiya Haruhata Soft "V" neck profile was reproduced by 3D scanning.  Also the pickups were the same: Di Marzio Fred DP153 humbucker at the bridge, Texas Special in the middle position and Di Marzio Air Norton DP193 humbucking pickup at the neck. They are mounted directly on the body, just like the Custom Shop model.  In addition, a push pull switch on the second tone knob activated the neck pickup in the other positions.

KEN STRATOCASTERS

Ken is a famous Japanese guitarist that started his career as guitarist of L'Arc-en-Ciel. In 2010, Ken asked Fender Custom Shop to produce the "Galaxy Red" for himself. This guitar was also produced and released as a Team Built signature model limited to 30 pieces in 2011 (price ¥ 522,900), and then as a Master Built model by Greg Fessler, available as a time-limited order until December 31, 2011 (price ¥ 774,900).
But, from the very beginning, Ken wanted a release in a more affordable price range and, in the spring of 2017, the Ken Stratocaster Galaxy Red was released in Japan.

Ken Signature Stratocasters adverts: the Custom Shop model, 2011, on the left, and the made in Japan Artis Series Strat, 2018, on the right

The two Experiment #1 guitar and the Custom Shop Ken Stratocaster Paisley Fantasy, whose first shipment is scheduled to be shipped in October 2022, and after that, it is scheduled to be shipped around 2024.

In October 2022, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band, Fender released two new signature Stratocasters to the Japanese domestic market.  The Ken Stratocaster Experiment #1 had an Original White body with large matching headstock, gold-plated hardware, locking tuners, maple cap fretboard, and direct-mounted Fender V-Mod II and Fat ‘50s single-coil pickups.  The most recognizable characteristics of the Experiment #1 body were the lack of the back contour and the body inspired by Kintsugi.  Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.  As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.  Following the Kintsugi, there were gold accents throughout the Ken Experiment #1 design, like the gold-painted elbow contour and the rear spring cavity, as well as the under-the-clear back control cavity.​

The Limited Ken Stratocaster Experiment #1 differed from the regular Experiment #1 for its lacquer finish, the engraved neck plate, and for the custom hardshell case with purple lining.